PUNJAB

Punjab government has decided to develop smart playgrounds in government schools, said Punjab School Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla on Saturday.

In an official statement to the press, the Cabinet Minister said that the education department has approved a grant of Rs 9.10 crore for the development of smart playgrounds in primary and middle schools in the first round of smart playground project.

The cabinet minister said that apart from introducing new initiatives and reforms, their government has also ensured transparency at every administrative step of . He said that more than 21,000 transfers have been made on the basis of Online Teacher Transfer policy which provides chances to the teachers to get transferred on better locations on the basis of their performance only. He added that the parents have also reposed trust in the government schools as around 5.5 lakh children have been shifted from private to government schools.

In order to augment the supplies and ensure adequate medical Oxygen in all thestate healthcare institutionsas well as private hospitals, thePunjab governmentwill set up 75 pressure swing adsorption (PSA) Plants in all the districts to combat the much-anticipated third Covid wave in the state.

While two plants atBarnalaand Nangal have already been made functional, the work on others is in full swing. Two under trial plants at Medical Colleges of Amritsar and Patiala have also been commissioned.

Besides, more than 5,000 oxygen concentrators (OCs) have also been provided to all the state hospitals, community Health centres and health and wellness centres to take care of any emergent requirements. Furthermore, 3,000 OCs purchased by the Punjab Government with assistance of the are being distributed to the state hospitals.

The Chief Secretary issued these directions while chairing a virtual meeting of the Public Management Committee to review the status of implementation, progress, and completion of 49 major Infrastructure projects being undertaken in the state at an estimated cost of Rs 10,533 crore.

The major projects reviewed included 24×7 pan city surface water supply for Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar, and Jalandhar, Aerotropolis near international airport in Mohali, rejuvenation of Chhoti and Badi Nadi in Patiala, large surface-based piped water supply schemes in various districts, Kajauli water works, water supply and sewerage project at NAC Mehraj in Bathinda, Shahpur Kandi dam project, new bus stand in Patiala, ring road in Bathinda, completion of construction of various judicial courts complexes, and other projects related to RAILWAY over and under bridges.

The government has made a provision of Rs 4,781 crore for Health and Family Welfare in 2023-24. The amount will be 11 per cent higher than 2022-23, said Finance Minister Harpal Cheema in his Budget speech today.

More than 10.50 lakh patients have availed the OPD Services at these clinics, which offer 41 free-of-cost diagnostic tests and medicines. The state will be spending Rs 43 crores on setting up as many as seven new maternal and child care hospitals.

Two new medical colleges with 100 MBBS seats each, at Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur, are being set up at a cost of Rs 422 crore and Rs 412 crore, respectively. The State Cancer Institute at Government Medical College, Amritsar, at a cost of Rs 119 crore and Cancer Care Centrein Fazilka at a cost of Rs 46 crore are expected to start very soon, Cheema said.

Rajasthanis all set to get its fifth tiger reserve as the (NTCA) has given in-principle approval to declareDholpurTiger Reserve.

As per the department records, the forest area houses nine tigers and upgrade in the status is expected to strengthen the ongoing tiger conservation efforts.

As per the preliminary proposal, the tiger reserve will be 1,058 square kilometre, including 368 sq.km coreand 690 sq.km buffer.

Out of the total proposed core area, 197 sq. km and 170 sq. km fall under Karauli and Dholpur districts. A small portion of the forest block falling in Bharatpur district has also been incorporated in the proposed reserve.

A study on https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change and its impact on productivity of major kharif and Rabi Crops in Punjab, has indicated that productivity of most crops decreases with an increase in Average temperature and has suggest focus on Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture“>Climate-Smart Agriculture for effective solutions to climatic risks.

The study assessed the climate change impact on productivity for five major crops across Punjab over a 35 year period from 19862020. These include wheat, rice, Cotton, maize and potato.

Anticipating that the climate change would be long-standing and will have a great bearing on the livelihood of the farmers and overall economy of the sector, the study observed that the projected changes in temperature and rainfall may result in a decline in yield of all major crops in the range of 1-10 percent by 2035, 3-18 percent by 2065, and 4-26 percent by the year 2100.

According to the experts calculations, by 2050, the loss in yield, including negative impact accumulating over time, would be 24 per cent formaize, followed by 24 per cent for cotton and by about two per cent for rice. The yield loss of wheat and potato has been projected at five per cent each.

Haryana has overtaken neighbouring Punjab in providing Infrastructure to trade and Industry. While Haryana is placed at No 2, up from sixth position in 2019, Punjab has slipped to No 3 from number two position.

According to the latest report of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the logistics ease across different states, 2021, Gujarat has been ranked at the No 1 position.

Haryanas No 2 position in 2021, an increase of four places compared to 2019, is credited to quality of Warehousing infrastructure, timeliness of cargo delivery and regulatory Environment and efficiency of regulatory Services in which the state had the highest score.